§ 25 — Penalties

§ 25. Penalties. 1. Every public utility company, corporation or\nperson and the officers, agents and employees thereof shall obey and\ncomply with every provision of this chapter and every order or\nregulation adopted under authority of this chapter so long as the same\nshall be in force.\n 2. Any public utility company, corporation or person and the officers,\nagents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or\ncomply with a provision of this chapter or an order adopted under\nauthority of this chapter so long as the same shall be in force, shall\nforfeit to the people of the state of New York a sum not exceeding one\nhundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for each and every\noffense and, in the case of a continuing violation, each day shall be\ndeemed a separate and distinct offense.\n 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section,\nany such public utility company, corporation or person and the officers,\nagents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects to obey or\ncomply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation\nadopted under the authority of this chapter, adopted specifically for\nthe protection of human safety, including but not limited to the\ncommission's code of gas safety regulations shall, if it is determined\nby the commission that such safety violation caused or constituted a\ncontributing factor in bringing about a death or personal injury,\nforfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:\n (a) two hundred and fifty thousand dollars constituting a civil\npenalty for each separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that\nfor purposes of this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall\nnot be deemed a separate and distinct offense. The total period of a\ncontinuing violation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be\nsimilarly treated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of\nthis paragraph; or\n (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision\ntwo of this section.\n 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of this\nsection, a public utility company, corporation or person and the\nofficers, agents and employees thereof that knowingly fails or neglects\nto obey or comply with a provision of this chapter, or an order or\nregulation adopted under authority of this chapter, designed to protect\nthe overall reliability and continuity of electric service, shall\nforfeit to the state of New York a sum not to exceed the greater of:\n (a) five hundred thousand dollars constituting a civil penalty for\neach separate and distinct offense; provided, however, that for purposes\nof this paragraph each day of a continuing violation shall not be deemed\na separate and distinct offense. The total period of a continuing\nviolation, as well as every distinct violation, shall be similarly\ntreated as a separate and distinct offense for purposes of this\nparagraph; or\n (b) the maximum forfeiture determined in accordance with subdivision\ntwo of this section.\n 4-a. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one or two of\nthis section, any public utility company or corporation, and the\nofficers, agents or employees thereof that knowingly makes a false\nmaterial statement, representation or certification to the commission in\nany rate proceeding shall forfeit to the state of New York a sum not to\nexceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Each false material\nstatement, representation or certification shall constitute a separate\nand distinct offense for purposes of this section.\n (b) A public utility company or corporation, and the officers, agents\nor employees thereof that discover that a false material statement,\nrepresentation or certification was previously made to the commission in\nrelation to a rate proceeding shall disclose such false material\nstatement, representation or certification to the commission within\nthree business days of discovery. Failure to make such disclosure shall\nconstitute a knowing violation of this subdivision and shall cause such\npublic utility company or corporation and the officers, agents or\nemployees thereof to be liable for forfeiture pursuant to this\nsubdivision.\n 5. Penalties provided for pursuant to this section shall be recovered\nin an action as provided in section twenty-four of this article.\n 6. Any payment made by a public utility company, corporation or person\nand the officers, agents and employees thereof as a result of an action\nas provided in section twenty-four of this article and the cost of\nlitigation and investigation related to any such action shall not be\nincluded by the commission in revenue requirements used to establish\nrates and charges.\n 7. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter relating\nto forfeitures and penalties, the act of any director, officer, agent or\nemployee of a public utility company, corporation or person acting\nwithin the scope of his or her official duties or employment shall be\ndeemed to be the act of such public utility company, corporation or\nperson.\n